lacrosse

The B1G released its host sites for all the championships, and some pretty big news.

Michigan will host both the Men's and Women's B1G Lacrosse Tournaments at the brand-new unnamed Lacrosse stadium.

Both tournaments are 4-team so we have to qualify to play in it. Both Lax programs are under new direction finally with Kevin Conry of the Men's team and Hannah Nielsen coaching the women.

Michigan Men's Gymnastics will host the B1G Championships at Crisler Center in 2018, as well. It should be a big breakout year after the young team had trouble the last two years. Michigan has won 3 of the last 8 NCAA National Championships with the most recent coming in 2014.

Here is the full host sites for 2017-18

Sport(s)

Dates

Host Site

M/W Cross Country

10/29

Bloomington, IN

Field Hockey

10/27-29
11/3 & 5

Highest seed hosts
East Lansing, MI

W Soccer

10/29
11/3 & 5

Highest seed hosts
Grand Park (Westfield, IN)

M Soccer

11/4-5
11/10 & 12

Highest seed hosts
Grand Park (Westfield, IN)

Football

12/2

Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)

W Swim & Dive

2/14-17

Columbus, OH

M Swim & Dive

2/21-24

Minneapolis, MN

M/W Indoor Track

2/23-24

SPIRE Institute (Geneva, OH)

W Basketball

2/28-3/4

Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)

M Basketball

2/28-3/4

Madison Square Garden (New York)

Wrestling

3/3-3/4

East Lansing, MI

Hockey

3/2-4
3/10
3/17

Best of 3 at highest seed
Semifinals at highest seed
Championship at highest seed

Did not see posted. UM has found its women lacrosse coach. Hannah Nielsen, who is perhaps to most celebrated women lacrosse player in the BIG if not the country, will lead the program. She had a great career at NW, let's see what she can do for our program.

Collegecrosse.com is reporting that Michigan is about to hire Maryland Associate Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Kevin Conry as the head Lacrosse Coach. (Ed Lee of the Baltimore Sun is claiming that his sources say no offer has been made yet, but we know Michigan tends to get things nailed down before the formal offer is made.)

If this holds up, its a great hire. Conry is highly regarded as the architect that took Maryland to 4 straight Final Fours before breaking through and winning it all this year. (Maryland's offense has been great for years.) Michigan clearly needed a defensive minded coach. It would not surprise me to see Conry retain current Offensive Coordinator Conor Ford. They were class/teammates at Hopkins, both graduating in 2004 (NCAA runner-ups their junior year - Hopkins would break through in 2005.)

Maryland takes on Ohio State in the NCAA men's lacrosse title game today at 1 PM, guaranteeing the conference's first national championship in the sport. Ohio State has never made it this far and Maryland hasn't won since the early-mid 70s. Maryland has made the championship an amazing 5 times under John Tillman and have lost every one. They're the Buffalo Bills of college lacrosse.

This is big for the conference and the game as a whole. The B1G was the best conference in the country this year and they proved it in the tournament as well. They made a major effort a few years ago to make their presence felt and today they will crown their first champion. If Ohio State pulls an upset, it may also serve as further indication that the center of power is shifting westwards.

It's also a major development for Michigan who is about to hire a new coach. Four of the 6 conference teams made the tournament this year and Rutgers was the first team out. The conference will likely be the best in the country over the next few years as well. Michigan will have to hire a coach capable of competing for a national championship and its intriguing to think who it might bed. Very interesting times and developments in the sport these days. GO BLUE!!!

3 of the 4 teams are set for Championship Weekend: OSU will play Towson and Denver will play the winner of Maryland/Albany on May 27. The Championship game is on May 29 (Memorial Day).

OSU advances to Championship Weekend for the first time in program history, and Maryland currently leads Albany 9-2. So the B1G could end up making up half the teams present next weekend. Further evidence that if Michigan lands a top-notch coaching staff, they could be in the playoff picture in the near future.

The tournament is currently underway with Penn State struggling to build a lead over Towson, 4-4. The game is on ESPNU. Other conference teams in the tournament are Maryland, Ohio State, and Hopkins.
The games take place this weekend, next weekend, and then conclude the following weekend with the Championship taking place on Memorial Day.
Bracket here: http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/lacrosse-men/d1